AMDC 3-Inch Disk Drives For Atari Richard DeVore The AMDC-1 is a single-drive, single-sided, dual-density 3-inch disk drive with a parallel printer port. The AMDC-2 is the dual drive version. AMDC-2 lists for $850. However, AMDEK has announced special introductory pricing. Through June 30, 1984, the AMDC-1 will sell for $550, and the price of the AMDC-2 will be $760. The AMDC-1 may be upgraded to the AMDC-2 for $300. The Atari 810 single-density single drive lists for the same price as the AMDC-1 but has only half the storage capacity and cannot run a parallel printer.The AMDISK AMDC-1 uses 3-inch disks which are designed to be used on both sides. A nice feature is that the drive has a LED which is keyed to whichever side of the disk is in use. When the A side is in position, the LED is green. When the B side is in position, the LED is red. This eliminates confusion over which side of the disk is in use, and prevents problems such as formatting the wrong side. A simple slide switch on the disk write-protects it, eliminating the need for a supply of write-protect tabs. A Disk In Your Pocket These disks are available from Amdek and Maxell for a suggested retail price of $6.99. Extra protection is offered by the disk enclosure, which seals the disk surfaces completely until the disk is inserted into the drive.The enclosure is made of a hard plastic and has a sliding metal cover over the read/write area of the disk surface. This cover is automatically moved aside when the disk is inserted into the drive. This cover, and their small size, allows them to be carried in a shirt pocket with relative impunity. Their small size also makes it possible to mail them in a standard envelope.The drive formats the 3-inch disks so that they are fully compatible with the 5¼-inch disks you’re used to. This, in effect, makes them transparent to the computer, which accepts them as a 5¼-inch disk.During my tests of the AMDC-2 I used it in both single- and double-density modes with no problems at all. I was able to fill all the disk sectors in both single- and double-density modes, and consistently read all the information. In transferring full disks of programs from one drive to the other, including from 3-inch to 5¼-inch and back, the units performed perfectly. Four Drives And A Printer The drives contain a controller which will take care of four drives and a Centronics-type parallel printer or plotter. It also allows the use of 5¼-inch and the 3-inch drives in any combination. DIP (dual in-line pin) switches mounted on the rear panel of the unit allow the 3-inch drives to be used as any drive, from drive 1 to drive 4. The factory setting is drive 1 for the AMDC-1 and drives 1 and 2 for the AMDC-2.Being able to add noncontroller disk drives to the AMDC is a bonus. Low-cost units are available and may be single- or double-sided. You may also use 40- or 80-track drives. These capabilities allow for a massive amount of storage at reasonable cost. The use of double-sided or 80-track drives requires the DOS/XL operating system to access the additional storage potential.Connecting the external drives requires setting the drive to respond to the proper signal, connecting them to the cable, and plugging the power cord in. External drives must have their own power supplies and cabinets. Switches Select Options There are eight DIP switches located on the upper right-rear panel of the AMDC. These allow the following configurations:Switches 1 through 4 are density selection switches that allow you to configure the drives for either single or double density on boot-up. The density of the boot drive is determined by the disk installed at boot-up. These switches have no effect if the controller is set for DOS 3.0.Switches 5 and 6 determine which drive will be the boot drive. The factory setting is for drive 1, but any drive up to and including 4 may be selected for this function.Switch 7 is used when more than three drives are connected to the controller, and is particularly useful when there is a 5¼-inch drive attached. When this switch is on, the external drive will be recognized as drive 1. When it is off, the 3-inch drives are 1 and 2, and the external drive is drive 3.Switch 8 sets drives that have been selected as dual density to 256 bytes per sector when off. When switch 8 is on, it sets all drives to be Atari 1050 compatible for use with DOS 3.0. When switch 1 is on, disks with 256 bytes per sector will not be recognized.The 3-inch drives are also available as a dual drive without a controller. This version is called the AMDISK IIIB and is fully compatible with the AMDC-1 or 2. The AMDISK IIIB in conjunction with an AMDC-2 lets you have a total of four double-density drives that take up about the same desk space as one Atari disk drive.If you have 5¼-inch dual-density disk drives with controllers that use the industry standard 34-pin ribbon cable for drive connection, you can use the AMDISK IIIB as add-on drives. Parallel Printer Port The printer port on the AMDC is software-compatible with the Atari 850 interface. This enables the use of data base programs, word processors, and LPRINT statements from BASIC. The printer port also uses the same 15 pin D connector as the 850. This port is located on the upper rear panel of the AMDC. Since the pinout is the same as the 850 interface, any Atari-compatible printer cable will work with your printer or plotter.Should you already own an Atari 850 interface, one printer/plotter may be attached to it, and another to the AMDC. Since they both respond to the same signals from the computer, it is possible to have the equivalent of a printer switch by simply turning on the unit you wish to use and turning off the other. Drives Supplied With DOS/XL The AMDC drives will be supplied with the DOS/XL operating system by Optimized Systems Software, Inc., of Cupertino, CA. This is a menu-driven version of OSA + Version 2.0 and OSA + Version 4.1. This allows compatibility with the Atari operating system as well as the use of double-sided or 80-track drives. DOS/XL was not ready at the time of this review, but both OSA + versions performed as advertised.Amdek also will provide a group of utility programs and a patch to Atari DOS which will permit it to function under double density. Most of these utilities are quite complex and are intended for programmers who wish to take full advantage of all the drives’ capabilities.Two of these utilities, however, will be of value to anyone: Config and Version. Config configures the drives as to type and density, and Version tells you the version number and date of the AMDC operating software which may help should you have a problem.The more complex utilities are:FREFORM – This allows you to specify the sector order on the disk. This would be a way to protect programs from being copied.TIME EXTEND – This may be used to change the printer port time-out value from the normal 20 seconds to any value from 1 to 255 seconds. This may be useful when setting up a plotter or if you want to make it 5 seconds to match the normal 850 interface timing.CONTD – Use this program to set the controller and drives to match the diskettes in the drives.IDTABLE – Use this program to change the drive numbers as far as the computer is concerned. You may make drive 2 your boot drive, for instance.IDENT – A program to check how many drives are presently attached and operating in the system.The AMDC-1 and 2 have a formatted capacity of 92K per side in 40-track single-density, and 184K per side in 40-track double-density. In DOS 3 mode they have 127K in double-density. Each of the figures above is doubled since you can use both sides of the disk. If you connect an 80-track, double-density, double-sided drive to the system using DOS/XL, you can get 736K. Software Compatibility At the time this review was written the following software vendors had agreed to make all of their software available on the 3-inch format: LJK, Synapse, Broderbund, Sirius, and Penguin, with more expected, including some educational vendors. This may make it unnecessary to have any other drive to get full use of your computer.The AMDC-2 takes up less space than the 5¼-inch dual drive I have been using, not to mention the fact that the Atari 850 interface was not needed. This space saving also eliminated the additional expense, cables, and power supplies that would have been required with another configuration.This, and the fact that software will be available in the 3-inch disk format, makes the AMDC disk drives an impressive alternative to the standard 5¼-inch drives. The extra protection of the media and ease of use make them especially good in teaching environments. In short, if you are in the market for a disk drive, the AMDC suits your needs perfectly and deserves serious consideration.AMDC Disk Drive AMDEK Corp. 2201 Lively Blvd. Elk Grove, IL 60007 (312) 364-1180 AMDC-1 $599 AMDC-2 $850 |
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
1
Mar
25
Dec
Juniper 2200EX48 Minor error “Host 0 Boot from backup root”
fix:
CLI: request system reboot slice alternate media internal
This tells the switch to boot from the primary partition, and done.
30
Sep
I’ve run my DMR repeater for quite some time using vertically separated antennas, which works, but not very well, finally got a set of these so I can have a little better range.
26
Dec
Midland Land Mobile Model and Features Table
The Syntech I (AKA Syntech 1 or ST1) uses a “Z-273” module to hold the codeplug in a UV-erased PROM – i.e. the frequency and tone information. Changing anything requires erasing the PROM chip under a UV light and then reprogramming it with the 70-1000 stand-alone programmer, or the 70-1000c programmer which uses a PC to reprogram the eprom module. The Syntech II (AKA Syntech 2 or ST2) and XTR have a programming connector for programming by a PC using the the 70-1308A cable. The ST1s were made in the early 1980s… the XTR was the transition model between the I and the II, it and the ST2s came out in very late 80s/early 90s. The STI control head has blue pushbuttons, the ST2 head has white buttons. The newest models are the Bantam and Titan models. The Bantam radios are the smallest, programmed through the RJ-45 microphone connector with the 70-1309 programmer in line between the radio and a PC serial port. The Titan models are their current production units. The Securicor radios are Titans that were manufactured during the time Midland was owned by Securicor (Midland is now back under its own name).
Model Type Split Power Channel
Count Comments
Syntech I & 8 Channel
70-336 ST-1 150-174 35 watts 8 dash mount VHF
70-526 ST-1 470-470 25 watt 8 dash mount UHF
70-343* ST-1 150-174 20-40 watt 80 Marine use, dash mount
70-443* ST-1 150-174 20-40 watt 80 Marine use, trunk mount
70-343A* ST-1 150-174 1-25 watt 80 Marine use, dash mount
70-443A* ST-1 150-174 1-25 watt 80 Marine use, trunk mount
* These are type accepted for off shore and harbor use
70-050 ST-1 30-50 50 watt 80 Dash Mount low band
70-055 ST-1 30-50 50 watt 80 trunk mount low band
70-052 ST-1 30-50 50 watt 80 Dash Mount low band
70-056 ST-1 30-50 110 watt 80 trunk mount low band
“A”=29-37 MHz, “B”=35-44 MHz, “C”=40-54 MHz
70-066 ST1 66-80 MHz 40 watt 80 Dash Mount mid band
70-076 ST1 66-80 MHz 40 watt 80 Trunk Mount mid band
“A”=66-80 MHz, “B”=75-88 MHz
70-340 ST-1 136-174 40 watt 80 dash mount VHF
70-440 ST-1 136-174 40 watt 80 trunk mount VHF
70-342XL ST-1 136-174 40 watt 80 dash mount wide band VHF
70-442XL ST-1 136-174 40 watt 80 trunk mount wide band VHF
70-380 ST-1 136-174 80 watt 80 dash mount VHF
70-480 ST-1 136-174 80 watt 80 trunk mount VHF
70-382B ST-1 136-174 80 watt 80 dash mount wideband VHF*
70-482B ST-1 136-174 80 watt 80 trunk mount wideband VHF*
70-385 ST-1 136-174 110 watt 80 dash mount VHF
70-485 ST-1 136-174 110 watt 80 trunk mount VHF
“A”=136-156 MHz, “B”=148-174 MHz
The 70-382 and 70-482 radios are noted as “B” models because they were not available in A range.
70-530 ST-1 406-512 30watt 80 UHF Dash Mount
70-630 ST-1 406-512 30watt 80 UHF Trunk Mount
70-565 ST-1 406-512 65watt 80 UHF Dash Mount
70-665 ST-1 406-512 65watt 80 UHF Trunk Mount
“A”=406-430 MHz, “B”=450-470 MHz, “C”=470-494 MHz, “D”=494-512 MHz, “E”=430-450 MHz
Conventional 800 radios
70-915 ST-1 806-870 15watt 800 MHz Dash Mount
70-970 ST-1 806-870 15watt 800 MHz Trunk Mount
70-935 ST-1 806-870 35 watt 800 MHz Dash Mount
70-980 ST-1 806-870 35 watt 800 MHz Trunk Mount
Trunked 800 radios
70-9015 ST-1 806-870 15watt Dash Mount
70-9035 ST-1 806-870 30watt Dash Mount
70-9115 ST-1 806-870 15watt Trunk Mount
70-9135 ST-1 806-870 30watt Trunk Mount
Desktop Base Stations
70-058 ST-1 30-50 25-50 watts 80
70-840 ST-1 150-174 20-40 watts 80
70-842XL ST-1 150-174 20-40 watts 80
70-930 ST-1 450-470 15-30 watts 80
70-908 ST-1 806-870 >5-15 watts 80
70-909 ST-1 806-870 20-53 watts 80
Table Top Repeaters
70-805b ST-1 150-174 2-5 watts
70-834b ST-1 150-174 5-35 watt
70-905b ST-1 450-470 2-5 watts
70-924b ST-1 450-470 5-25 watts
XTR & 8 Channel
70-0351A XTR 30-36 60 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0351B XTR 36-42 60 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0351C XTR 42-50 60 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0355A XTR 30-36 60 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-0355B XTR 36-42 60 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-0355C XTR 42-50 60 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-0371A XTR 30-36 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0371B XTR 36-42 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0371B XTR 36-42 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0371C XTR 42-50 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-0375A XTR 30-36 110 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-0375B XTR 36-42 110 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-0375C XTR 42-50 110 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1066A 66-77 30 W 8 Dash Mount
70-1066B 77-88 30 W 8 Dash Mount
70-1070A XTR 66-77 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1070B XTR 77-88 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1075A XTR 66-77 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1075B XTR 77-88 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1336A 136-160 25W 8 Dash Mount
70-1336B 150-174 30 W 8 Dash Mount
70-1340A XTR 136-160 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1340B XTR 150-174 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1342A XTR 136-162 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1342B XTR 148-174 40 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1395A XTR 136-160 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1395B XTR 150-174 110 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1440A XTR 136-160 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1440B XTR 150-160 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1442A XTR 136-162 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1442B XTR 148-174 40 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1495A XTR 136-160 110 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1495B XTR 150-174 110 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1526A 403-430 25W 8 Dash Mount
70-1526B 450-470 25W 8 Dash Mount
70-1530A XTR 403-430 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1530B XTR 450-470 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1530C XTR 470-500 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1530D XTR 490-520 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1532A XTR 403-430 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1532B XTR 450-470 30 W 22 Dash Mount
70-1595A XTR 403-430 100W 22 Dash Mount
70-1595B XTR 450-470 100W 22 Dash Mount
70-1630A XTR 403-430 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1630B XTR 450-470 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1630C XTR 470-500 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1630D XTR 490-520 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1632A XTR 403-430 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1632B XTR 450-470 30 W 22 Trunk Mount
70-1695A XTR 403-430 100W 22 Dash Mount
70-1695B XTR 450-470 100W 22 Dash Mount
70-9020 806-870 15W 200 LTR Trunked
70-9160 XTR 806-870 35W 22 Conventional
70-9170 806-870 15W 8 Conventional
70-9170 806-870 5W 8 Conventional
70-9180 XTR 806-870 35W 22 Conventional
Syntech 2 Low Band
70-0501 ST-2 30-54 50watt 320 dash mount
70-0502 ST-2 30-54 50watt 320 dash mount w/deluxe head
70-0551 ST-2 30-54 50watt 320 trunk mount
70-0552 ST-2 30-54 50watt 320 trunk mount w/deluxe head
70-0557 ST-2 30-54 50watt 320 trunk mount w/small head
70-0521 ST-2 30-54 110watt 320 dash mount
70-0522 ST-2 30-54 110watt 320 dash mount w/deluxe head
70-0561 ST-2 30-54 110watt 320 trunk mount
70-0562 ST-2 30-54 110watt 320 trunk mount w/deluxe head
70-0567 ST-2 30-54 110watt 320 trunk mount w/small head
“A”=30-36 MHz, “B”=36-42 MHz, “C”=42-50 MHz
CWB indicates 11 MHz T & R
The deluxe head has an LCD display
Syntech 2 VHF (wideband, 24 MHz)
70-3421 ST-2 136-174 40 watt 320 dash mount
70-3422 ST-2 136-174 40 watt 320 dash mount deluxe head
70-4421 ST-2 136-174 40 watt 320 trunk mount
70-4422 ST-2 136-174 40 watt 320 trunk mount deluxe head
70-4427 ST-2 136-174 40 watt 320 trunk mount small head
70-3851 ST-2 136-174 110watt 320 dash mount
70-3852 ST-2 136-174 110watt 320 dash mount deluxe head
70-4851 ST-2 136-174 110watt 320 trunk mount
70-4852 ST-2 136-174 110watt 320 trunk mount deluxe head
70-4857 ST-2 136-174 110 watt 320 trunk mount small head
“A”=136-160 MHz, “B”=150-174 MHz
Syntech 2 UHF
70-5301 ST-2 406-470 30 watt 320 dash mount wideband 24 MHz T & R
70-5302 ST-2 406-470 30 watt 320 dash mount wideband 24 MHz T & R, deluxe head
70-6301 ST-2 406-470 30 watt 320 trunk mount wideband
70-6302 ST-2 406-470 30 watt 320 trunk mount wideband, deluxe head
70-6307 ST-2 406-470 30 watt 320 trunk mount wideband, small head
“A”=406-430 MHz, “B”=450-470 MHz
Continuous duty repeaters
70-0700 ST-2 148-174 45-70 watts VHF
70-1500 ST-2 148-174 100-150 watts VHF
70-2500 ST-2 148-174 250 watts VHF
70-4050 ST-2 450-512 30-50 watt UHF
70-4120 ST-2 450-512 90-120 watts UHF
70-8030 ST-2 806-870 30 watt 800 MHz
70-8100 ST-2 806-870 100 watt 800 MHz
26
Jan
Found these in the archive today, trying to scan everything….
1970 Subaru 360 Flyer Front side
1970 Subaru 360 Flyer Back side
10
May
1. 9mm- Winchester also has a military contract
2. .40 S&W- Number one LEO round
3. .38 Special- I found this surprising
4. .45ACP
5. .380ACP
6. .357 Sig
21
Nov
I’m walking through the back yard, and I find this 16 Meg memory stick, laying in the dirt. I pick it up, and plug it into a card reader. It shows as blank, but using some recovery software, I find 8 pics. Boring pics, but still amusing. A small window into the lives of those that lived in this house before me.
9
Oct
Some of you will get a laugh out of this. Looking back through emails from the past, I stumbled upon an email that we all got a laugh about… One of the early on hires at Voxeo, didn’t really fit in with our corporate culture, and he was sure everything we were doing was wrong. Finally, we were freed from him, and this is a personal email he sent to myself, the CEO, and another employee. Good stuff. We had about 1/2 day of laugh from this one. Those that know him, will laugh remembering.
From SMFeiner@aol.com
To rob@robpatton.com
Dear Rob. You are most welcome. As I do not remember uttering any kind words to your face, but only civil, professional interaction, always with tension and undisguised mistrust.
In any event, there is truly justice in the universe and people eventually do get what they deserve. Running a business is not a social event, as will continue to be evident. Anyway, with luck our paths will not cross again.
And I do agree Carlos is GOLD!
Mark
He went on publicly to talk about how Voxeo would be out of business in 3 months, and he would get the last laugh. Well, its been 7 years and 3 months. He must have meant 8 years and 3 months. That must be it.
Who is to be blamed for this? Higgins!
26
Sep
Dayton, Ohio police say that a 72 year old man was driving down the road at 6 PM on Saturday, when 24 year old Phillip Anderson cut him off. Anderson is alleged to have then jumped out of his car and pointed an AK-47 at the elderly man, saying “give me all you got.” The 72 year old robber victim, who had a concealed carry permit, is said to have pulled out his own handgun and shot Anderson in self defense. Anderson, who survived, faces aggravated robbery charges. The 72 year old concealed carry permit holder was unharmed, and will not face charges for defending himself.
Few unarmed senior citizens can fight off a younger, stronger, and faster attacker – even if that attacker is unarmed. When those criminals are armed (which is often the case, since criminals ignore gun control laws), elderly victims are at an even greater disadvantage. The result is often terrible for that senior citizen, as well as their loved ones.
Armed senior citizens, on the other hand, have the best possible chance of defending themselves against attack by criminals. This armed 85 year old woman held a home invader at gunpoint, and made him call the police on himself. This armed 93 year old man shot a home invader in self defense after the home invader began to attack him. This armed 70 year old woman held an intruder at gunpoint until the police arrived to arrest him. This armed 91 year old man used his handgun to fend off two home invader who had broken in and threatened his wheelchair-bound wife with their guns. This armed 84 year old man used his handgun to stop a criminal who repeatedly tried to enter his home through the front door, back door, and a window. I could go on with more examples, but the point should be clear: gun ownership saves lives every day and allows crime victims stop even the strongest of criminals.
20
Jul
The 2006 Florida Statutes
Title XI
County Organization and Intergovernmental Relations
163.04 Energy devices based on renewable resources.–
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or other provision of general or special law, the adoption of an ordinance by a governing body, as those terms are defined in this chapter, which prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources is expressly prohibited.
(2) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources from being installed on buildings erected on the lots or parcels covered by the deed restrictions, covenants, or binding agreements. A property owner may not be denied permission to install solar collectors or other energy devices based on renewable resources by any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property with respect to residential dwellings not exceeding three stories in height. For purposes of this subsection, such entity may determine the specific location where solar collectors may be installed on the roof within an orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south provided that such determination does not impair the effective operation of the solar collectors.
(3) In any litigation arising under the provisions of this section, the prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(4) The legislative intent in enacting these provisions is to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the development and use of renewable resources in order to conserve and protect the value of land, buildings, and resources by preventing the adoption of measures which will have the ultimate effect, however unintended, of driving the costs of owning and operating commercial or residential property beyond the capacity of private owners to maintain. This section shall not apply to patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives, or apartments.
History.–s. 8, ch. 80-163; s. 1, ch. 92-89; s. 14, ch. 93-249
Copyright 1995-2006 The Florida Legislature